Erling Haaland sparked a Manchester City comeback from a 1-0 deficit to secure a 3-1 victory over Chelsea, propelling City into the Premier League’s top four at the expense of the Blues.
City faced a challenging start when Abdukodir Khusanov debuted, inadvertently setting up Noni Madueke’s opening goal.
Josko Gvardiol equalized for Pep Guardiola’s team before Haaland showcased his combination of power and finesse, scoring with a delicate chip 22 minutes from the end.
The Norwegian forward then assisted the in-form Phil Foden, sealing City’s fourth win in five league matches after securing just one victory in their previous nine.
Chelsea have secured just one victory in their last seven Premier League games, slipping to sixth place. The team is reconsidering the necessity of upgrading goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, whose positioning played a role in Haaland’s crucial goal.
City’s victory has positioned them firmly for next season’s Champions League qualification, just as they prepare to fight for survival in this year’s tournament.
The English champions have a vital match against Club Brugge on Wednesday. They need to win to move to the playoff round after a disappointing 4-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain last week, despite leading 2-0.
“After conceding the goal, we bounced back emotionally,” said Guardiola. “This is crucial for our game on Wednesday and the upcoming matches.”
Guardiola introduced new signings Khusanov and Omar Marmoush for their debuts.
But that decision backfired spectacularly within three minutes, as in the case of Khusanov.
The first Uzbek to ever play in the Premier League misjudged a header intended to pass back to his own goal, allowing Nicolas Jackson to set up Madueke for an easy score.
Shortly after, Khusanov was lucky to escape with just a yellow card following a rough tackle on Cole Palmer.
In contrast, Marmoush demonstrated why he trailed only Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane in Bundesliga goals this season before his £59 million ($72.6 million) transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Egyptian believed he had leveled the score by capitalizing on a rebound after Sanchez deflected Ilkay Gundogan’s shot but was called offside.
“In the first half, you could see he possesses something special. That’s clearly why Manchester City signed him,” Haaland remarked about his new teammate.
